Man Taking Estrogen Before And After

Estrogen Supports The Testicular Function

Estrogen exhibits a regulatory and protective role in testes primarily because biosynthesis of this hormone in testicular cells and the absence of estrogen receptors can induce adverse reactions on spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis. Like other effects, a delicate balance between estrogen and testosterone is necessary for these functions.

What Happens During Follow

These appointments enable healthcare providers to track your response to treatment. Care includes tests to check for signs of complications. These often include blood tests. Occasionally, you may need a bone density test .

You can expect to see your healthcare provider:

• Every three months during the first year of hormone therapy.
• Every six to 12 months after that.

Risk Of Heart Problems

Hormone therapy for prostate cancer might increase the risk of heart problems if you have certain medical conditions.

This may be because some of the side effects of hormone therapy, such as weight gain, can make heart disease worse.

• Gynecomastia in Patients with Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review

  A Fagerlund and others

• Treatment Of Osteoporosis in Men

  UpToDate, Accessed August 2019

• Cardiovascular effects of hormone therapy for prostate cancer

  J Lester and D Mason,

  Drug, Healthcare and Patient Safety, 2015. Volume 7

• Cognitive Effects of Androgen Deprivation Therapy in Men With Advanced Prostate Cancer

  B Gunlusoy and others

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Hormone Replacement Therapy For Transgender Men

Hormone replacement therapy for transgender men during a female-to-male transition also combats gender dysphoria, leading to reduced emotional discomfort and better overall mental health.

During the process, you will take testosterone, which decreases estrogen production and suppresses menstruation. Testosterone is typically administered by injection or as a gel applied to the skin . In some cases, it may be applied as a patch or pellets positioned under the skin. If you have a persistent menstrual flow, your doctor might recommend taking progesterone to control it.

You may observe some of the following physical changes within several months of starting hormones, though individual responses to treatment varies:

• Deepening of the voice

• Abnormal cholesterol levels
• High blood pressure

Masculinizing hormone replacement therapy may also increase your risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

You are more likely to experience one or more of these health complications if you have had breast cancer or have a history of blood clots. It may be unsafe to continue with hormone treatment if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Be sure to discuss the potential risks and benefits of hormone replacement therapy with your doctor, and make sure they are aware of your full medical history.

Pills Gels Patches Or Shots

You have options with how to take your hormones. Typically, gender hormones include:

• Testosterone comes as a gel, patch, or injection.
• Estrogen, and sometimes progesterone, come as a pill, patch, or injection.
• Spironolactone, which blocks testosterone, is taken as a pill.

Your insurer may cover certain types of hormones and not others.

Hormones at home? Yes, we can teach you how to give yourself a hormone injection at home.

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Increased Estrogen Can Cause Depression

Depression is a more complicated condition than people believe. Several mechanisms of action can pave the way to depression, and excess estrogen in men is one of them.

One study found that depressive symptoms were associated with depression in men, regardless of their BMI. This isnt such a surprise if we consider that as men age, they experience low testosterone , and estrogen increases.

Depression is often a common symptom of testosterone imbalance, including mood swings, irritability, among other things.

Feminizing Hormone Therapy And Fertility

Gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy may affect your fertility, as it impacts sperm production. While some transgender women can produce sperm again after stopping hormone treatment, research indicates that this may not be the case universally, and there is a risk of permanent infertility with long-term use of hormones. If you would like to have biological children, ask your doctor about your options with freezing your sperm before starting hormones.

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How Does Feminizing Hormone Therapy Work

You start by taking anti-androgens to block testosterone production. Then, after a few weeks, you take estrogen. This hormone comes in many forms, including:

People who choose feminizing hormone therapy start with a low dose of estrogen. The appropriate amount is different for each person. Your healthcare provider determines the type and dose thats right for you.

Starting with a low dose helps reduce the risk of complications and side effects. Then, as your body gets used to it, your provider will increase the dosage. After achieving the desired results, you take a lower dose for the rest of your life.

What Were The Limits Of The Study

This study looked at health records from patients in one health system in one state. Hormone therapy may vary across people and health providers. As a result, findings may differ for other patients.

Future research could continue to look at the risks of blood clots and strokes among transgender women. Studies could look at standardized hormone therapy.

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Effects Of Estrogen On The Male Body

The effects of the hormone testosterone heavily influence the male body.

That said, testosterone is not the only hormone that can have a major impact on our health, behavior, and other aspects of physical and mental well-being.

Other hormones are also involved, like estrogen.

Since estrogen is usually associated with women, some men believe they dont have this hormone in their bodies at all. But this is incorrect.

In this post, you will learn all about the effects of estrogen on the male body. Read on to learn more.

What To Know About Transgender Hormone Therapy Side Effects

Alto Pharmacy

For many transgender men and women, hormone replacement therapy is an important component of their transitioning process, allowing them to develop physical traits aligned with their gender identity. Taking this step to feel more comfortable in your body is a big decision, and there are many factors to consider as you determine if gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy is right for you.

Below is an overview of hormone replacement therapy medications and side effects to help you learn more about the process.

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Estrogen Regulates Sex Drive

Even though the driving force behind libido in men is testosterone, estrogen, i.e., serum estradiol, also plays an important role here.

The effect of estradiol on a male sex drive is observed at various levels of regulation, beginning with its direct impact on the brain.

In other words, estrogen in men influences sexual behavior and organizes the early brain to program sexual behavior. Since a great deal of mens confidence stems from the libido, normal estrogen levels are necessary for this function.

Symptoms Of High Estrogen Levels In Men

Here are some of the main symptoms of high estrogen levels in men:

• Infertility. Estrogen is one of the hormones your body uses to produce sperm. High estrogen levels can slow down sperm production and make it harder to create healthy sperm.
• Gynecomastia. Increased estrogen can cause more breast tissue to develop than normal. High levels can lead to the development of a condition called gynecomastia. This happens when the amount of breast fat tissue is abnormally high.
• Erectile dysfunction . Increased estrogen levels can affect the balance of hormones that are needed to help get an erection and stay erect. This is especially true if you also experience low testosterone.
• . Too much estrogen can result in short stature or delayed puberty in boys.
• Epiphyseal closure. This can happen in adolescents with high estrogen, causing boys to have short stature.

Other possible symptoms of high estrogen that may happen along with other hormone imbalances include:

• reduced sex drive

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What Are The New Findings

• Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies identify that hormone therapy in transwomen decreases muscle cross-sectional area, lean body mass, strength and haemogloblin levels, with noted differences in the time course of change.

• Haemoglobin levels decrease to those seen in cisgender women after 4 months of hormone therapy. In contrast, despite significant decreases in muscle cross-sectional area, lean body mass and strength after 1236 months of hormone therapy, values remain higher than that in cisgender women.

• It is possible that transwomen competing in sports may retain strength advantages over cisgender women, even after 3 years of hormone therapy.

Who Was In The Study

The research team looked at the health records of 3,325 transgender women and 62,033 men and women who werent transgender. All were members of Kaiser Permanente health systems in California. Of these, 55 percent were White, 12 percent were Asian, and 6 percent were Black. Also, 20 percent were Hispanic, and 64 percent were ages 1836.

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How Do I Prepare For Feminizing Hormone Therapy

There are many steps to help you prepare, including:

• Patient education to explain how treatment works and what to expect. This includes reviewing risks and benefits.
• Medical history to check for estrogen-dependent conditions, like certain breast cancers and endometriosis.
• Physical exam to ensure you are healthy enough to start feminizing hormone therapy.
• Lab tests, including a blood panel, urinalysis and liver function test.
• Mental health evaluation to make a gender dysphoria diagnosis. It also confirms your understanding of therapy and ability to agree to it.

Hot Flushes And Sweating

Hot flushes and sweating can be troublesome. They may last for 2 to 30 minutes and you may have a few a month or more often. They are the same as the hot flushes women have when going through menopause.

Lowered testosterone levels cause hot flushes. They are most likely to happen when taking LHRH agonists, also called LH blockers , because these drugs cut testosterone production off altogether.

Getting overheated, drinking tea or coffee, and smoking can all make flushes worse.

They may gradually get better as you get used to the treatment. But, in some men the flushes keep on happening as long as you take the drug.

Talk to your doctor or clinical nurse specialist if you have problems coping with hot flushes and sweating. There are treatments that may help.

• Learn how to cope with hot flushes and sweats

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A Note About Sex And Gender

Sex and gender exist on spectrums. This article will use the terms, male, female, or both to refer to sex assigned at birth. .

Estrogen hormone therapy involves an individual assigned male at birth taking the hormone estrogen to develop certain feminine characteristics.

Estrogen stops the pituitary gland from forming gonadotropin, which reduces androgen production. Androgens are a group of hormones that help with reproductive development, among other things. Reducing the number of androgens in the body helps a person transition by encouraging changes in fat distribution, breast development, and male pattern hair growth.

Doctors may also prescribe other anti-androgen drugs to help the transitioning process.

A person may not notice significant changes when starting estrogen hormone therapy. The timeline varies, and some people may see more significant changes than others.

People may notice more changes if they use anti-androgen therapy alongside estrogen therapy.

Estrogen hormone therapy can cause physical changes.

Study Selection Quality Assessment And Data Extraction

Each study was initially categorised based on its design and examined for quality in line with the Effective Public Health Practise Project tool. This is a generic tool used to evaluate a variety of intervention study designs and is suitable for use in systematic reviews, having content and construct validity. Based on the EPHPP, six domains are evaluated: selection bias study design confounders blinding data collection method and withdrawals/dropouts. Each domain is rated as strong , moderate or weak , and domain scores are averaged to provide the overall mean rating. Based on the overall mean rating, studies are rated as weak , moderate or strong .

For longitudinal studies, data were extracted to examine changes in LBM, CSA, strength and Hgb/HCT in transwomen taking GAHT. In cross-sectional studies, data in transwomen were compared with data from both cisgender men and cisgender women. The study authors were contacted if there were any questions regarding the presented data. In this regard, authors of the nine studies carried out by the European Network for the Investigation of Gender Incongruence were contacted regarding potential overlapping participants and another author was contacted to clarify graphical data content.

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To My Surprise I Found That As My Body Began To Change On Hormones So Did My Sexual Orientation

In March of 2015, I made the huge step to go on hormones and start the process of transitioning from male-to-female through the use of Hormone Replacement Therapy, otherwise known as HRT. I was excited, but there were more than a few surprises in store for me as the months went on, a few of which I decided to share.

1. My Sexual Orientation Flipped

In March, if I had to describe my orientation, I would have said I was almost completely attracted to women, with slight wiggle room for the occasional crush on a dude. To my surprise, I found that as my body began to change on hormones, so did my sexual orientation. I was more and more attracted to men, progressing from more physically attracted to women, but more psychologically attracted to men, to finally where I am now, which is almost completely physically and psychologically attracted to men, with slight wiggle room for the occasional crush on a girl. I read up on this phenomenon, and it’s not uncommon among those who undergo transition, but I wouldn’t have minded someone letting me in on the fact this could happen!

2. My Libido Diminished Dramatically

3. My Experience of Arousal Transformed

4. Skin Sensitivity

5. Stretch Marks

Typical Changes From Estrogen

Table source: Gender Affirming Hormones Prescribers Guide, Version 2, August 2019

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Feminizing Hormone Replacement Therapy Side Effects

You may experience one or more of the following hormone replacement therapy side effects. Your doctor can advise you about the potential risks and benefits prior to starting hormones.

• A blood clot in a deep vein %20is,other%20areas%20of%20your%20body.” rel=”nofollow”> deep vein thrombosis) or in your lungs
• High levels of triglycerides, a type of fat found in the blood
• High blood pressure

Feminizing hormone replacement therapy may also increase your risk for some chronic health conditions. Since estrogen affects how your body responds to insulin, it can lead to changes in your blood sugar levels and a greater risk for type 2 diabetes. Research into the impact of estrogen on your cardiovascular system is ongoing, and some studies have found a connection between estrogen therapy and a greater risk for heart disease and stroke. You may also face a greater risk of breast cancer after starting hormone replacement therapy.

Certain underlying health conditions may increase your risk of health complications related to the use of estrogen and testosterone-blocking hormones. Its important to share your full medical history with your doctor, especially if youve had a hormone-related cancer, like prostate cancer, or a history of blood clots.

Problems Getting An Erection

Hormone therapy lowers the amount of testosterone in the body and this affects your ability to have and maintain an erection. This may get better within 3 to 12 months after the treatment ends.

For some men, erection problems are permanent. It depends on the drug you are having and how long you have been taking it.

Your doctor or clinical nurse specialist will be able to offer you advice.

• Read about hormone therapy for prostate cancer

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Search Strategy And Selection Criteria

This systematic review was conducted in line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Two electronic searches of four online databases were completed 15 months apart. The first was performed by BSK in January 2019 and the second by JH in April 2020. The two sets of search results were compared by GLW. The second search identified novel data from three additional studies using the same cohorts as three studies identified in the first search. The more recent search also identified three additional recent papers. Reference lists were also searched for additional citations pertinent to the review. The searches combined terms related to transwomen, GAHT, muscle and blood parameters .

Will Estrogen Permanently Change My Hair Growth

Probably not, but as long as you keep using estrogen, you will retain any new changes. Going off GAHT, decreasing your dose, or making other hormonal changes might affect your hair. Hormonal therapy alters hair growth however, to reach your transition goals, you may have to consider supplemental treatments as well. This can be as minor as vitamins, a new cleansing regimen, or keratin treatments. It can also include hair treatments that can only be done by a doctor or licensed aesthetician.

It is important to realize that estrogen usually does not cause body hair or facial hair to go away altogether. Beard hair that is present when you begin estrogen will not go away on its own. Because of this, many people on estrogen therapy choose to undergo laser treatments or electrolysis for hair removal. Transgender people who work with dermatologists report high rates of satisfaction. Laser therapy can help regrow scalp hair and remove facial, pubic, and other body hair. While laser therapy is considered less painful, electrolysis is the only FDA-approved permanent hair removal option. Electrolysis destroys the hair-growth bulb at the root of each hair follicle and can be used by anyone, regardless of skin tone, hair color, or hair texture.

Plume provides gender-affirming care to trans and nonbinary people in 37 states across the United States . Learn more about our services here.

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